Get to the point

Hey there, Have you ever found yourself… “Just get to the point.” The sentiment is common within the workplace, one shared among stakeholders and marketers, alike. Now, I love sharing stories and, if you get me going, I’m a talker. But, as enjoyable as an elaborative narrative can be, it can compromise effective communication and…

Edwin Romero

3 months ago

Table of Contents

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Hey there,

Have you ever found yourself…

“Just get to the point.”

The sentiment is common within the workplace, one shared among stakeholders and marketers, alike.

Now, I love sharing stories and, if you get me going, I’m a talker.

But, as enjoyable as an elaborative narrative can be, it can compromise effective communication and deviate away from a clear, consistent message.

Today I want to share why and how clear communication wins out in our SEO recommendations and consultancy.

Clients want us to get to the point

A client experienced a drop in organic performance in one of their site sections after a recent update.

I was tasked with identifying the cause and found that recent site changes had left them vulnerable to back-to-back algorithm updates.

To illustrate the issue, I overlaid the update release dates with the performance decline.

My recommendation was to revert to a previous iteration, but instead of getting straight to the point, I buried critical details in a grandiose narrative on a PowerPoint.

  • Slide 1: The updates.
  • Slide 2: Their significance.
  • Slide 3: Why they were impacted.

Before I could continue, the client cut me off: “What’s the plan forward?”

My ego had shaped the presentation to highlight my investigative skills, but the client didn’t care about the process, they wanted a solution.

They needed me to get to the point.

👉 Related: Improving My SEO Proposals – How I refined my approach to delivering concise, results-driven SEO recommendations.

Taken aback by my manager’s approach…

When I started in e-commerce, we held weekly teleconferences with clients to provide updates.

During my SEO reports, I noticed my manager would subtly spin his finger in a circle, his way of telling me to move it along.

At first, I found it rude. But as I grew into a managerial role, and later as an independent consultant, I completely understood.

Clients aren’t paying for the backstory – they want the key drivers of success. They don’t need every detail; they care about the results.

👉 Related: Mastering SEO Collaboration – The importance of clear communication in building trust with clients and SEO teams.

When I get to the point…

Needless to say, experiences like the above hel my ability to strip unnecessary details from updates.

For example, in our family business, I get straight to the main points, providing a brief recap of goals before diving in.

This serves as both a refresher and a way to highlight key takeaways for a busy team.

At times, my direct approach may seem abrupt, especially when keeping an agenda on track.

But my intent isn’t to kill the conversation; it’s to keep our campaigns aligned with the bigger vision and drive meaningful progress.

Prioritizing information with the inverted pyramid

The inverted pyramid is a writing style that places critical information up front, leading into broader details.

Originally designed for journalism, I apply this approach when reporting findings, delivering project updates, and writing content.

By highlighting key points at the start of a conversation, I help keep audiences engaged and focused.

In web content, where users skim for information, the inverted pyramid ensures that essential details aren’t buried; they’re prioritized.

👉 Related: Writing an Effective SEO Development Ticket – Best practices for structuring SEO requests clearly to ensure smooth execution.

Don’t hold back; just get to the point

Crafting elaborate explanations for audiences was how I structured several of my presentations and reports until I noticed clients losing interest.

These experiences taught me that results matter more than the narrative, no matter how juicy of story you can tell.

Now, I apply a more direct and succinct communication style to ensure clarity, focus, and impact in every SEO recommendation, when the situation calls for it.

I encourage you to review how you’re presenting information and whether it is streamlined or there is room for improvement.

Edwin Romero

Independent SEO Consultant

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Edwin Romero

Edwin Romero is an SEO consultant specializing in website migrations. He has 10 years of agency experience & 1 as an independent SEO consultant. He's worked with Fortunate 500 and mid-size e-commerce brands and has supported over 200 site migrations. Edwin loves knowledge-sharing and lending an ear.

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